Harold Crawford

Harold Wayne Crawford, Jr., age 88, of Port Aransas, formerly of Killeen, passed away on September 1, 2021 in Corpus Christi, Texas.  He was born December 18, 1932 in Brownstown, Illinois to Harold and Tillie Crawford.
In 1953 he was drafted into the United States Army.  This small town farm boy traveled to Camp Atterbury, Indiana for his basic training.  He was stationed in Nellingen, Germany; Coleman Barracks, and in Frankfurt, Germany; Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri; Fort Carson Colorado; Fort Knox, Kentucky; Okinawa, Japan; and Fort Hood, Texas where he spent many years, while also being called to the Cuban Crisis, Korea, and two tours in Vietnam.  He retired after twenty-six years as a CW4.  During his service, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster; Army Commendation Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters; Armed Forces Reserve Medal; Army Occupation Medal; Good Conduct Medal; National Defense Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster; Vietnam Service Medal with one silver and two bronze Service Stars; Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal; Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm; and Republic of Vietnam Civil Action Medal, 1st Class.  After retiring from the Army, he was employed with Civil Service on Fort Hood until his retirement in 1997.
Wayne was proud of his many years as an active member of the Killeen Evening Lions Club and the Greater Killeen Lions Club Foundation.  He served in many leadership positions within these organizations.
While stationed in Germany, he met and married the love of his life, Margarete Elfriede Crawford, on May 5, 1955.  On May 5, 2005, they went to Hawaii to celebrate their 50th anniversary and to renew their vows on Waikiki Beach.  This began a yearly tradition of traveling to Hawaii to celebrate their anniversary.  Their travels to Hawaii allowed them to pursue their love of fishing and also led to new friendships and adventures.  They enjoyed these trips so much that they also celebrated several of Wayne’s birthdays and Christmases with friends there.
He is survived by his wife, daughter Sandie Corn (Tim) of Killeen, grandson Justin Corn of Buda, Texas, granddaughter Dr. Jennifer Canales (Marcus) of Oak Point, Texas, and great-granddaughter Elara Canales.  He was preceded in death by his parents and his brother, Dr. Richard J. Crawford.  He is also survived by Richard’s wife, Jan Marie Crawford of Denver, Colorado and brothers John Crawford (Joyce) of Aiken, South Carolina and David Crawford (Judith) of Vandalia, Illinois, and many nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at Charlie Marshall Funeral Home in Aransas Pass on Sunday, October 3, 2021, at 2:00 p.m.  Interment with military honors will be held at the Central Texas State Veterans Cemetery in Killeen on Monday, October 4, 2021, 1:00 p.m.